NEAH BAY (Sept. 13, 2001) The Makah Tribe has set aside 278 pristine acres of rapidly disappearing marbled murrelet habitat in the Waatch River Valley.
The set aside was acquired as part of the Tenyo Maru oil spill settlement. The Tenyo Maru sank in July 22, 1991 after being rammed by a Chinese grain ship, spilling 100,000 gallons of fuel oil. The oil fouled the coast of the Makah Indian Reservation and as far south as Destruction Island, 40 miles away. Thousands of sea birds died as a result of the spill.
“It’s estimated we lost 7-11 percent of the marbled murrelet population on the coast as a result of the spill,
